


Heat Waves

by problematicInsomniac



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Based on a Glass Animals Song, Before Sburb, Canon Compliant, Cuddling, Damn, During SBURB, LOTAK, M/M, Mentions of Jane Crocker, Mentions of Roxy Lalonde - Freeform, No Beta, Songfic, Summer Heat Wave, The Honeymoon Stage of a Relationship, cant believe this is my first dirkjake post, glass animals - Freeform, implications of sexual thoughts, no details tho lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/problematicInsomniac/pseuds/problematicInsomniac
Summary: Even after all this time, Dirk can't get escape his own mind.
Relationships: Jake English/Dirk Strider
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> "Sometimes, all I think about is you  
> Late nights in the middle of June  
> Heat waves been faking me out  
> Can't make you happier now"  
> (Heat Waves - Glass Animals)

It was so hot, and you swear the heat was messing with your head. It penetrated the cooling system you've worked on for so long to fight off the regular summer days. Usually overnight there was a cool breeze coming off the ocean surrounding your home which the a/c unit collected and used in the morning organically and then recycled in order to keep the house cool until sunset, but apparently not today. You've already taken two cold showers this morning and really don't want to take another one until you are done sweating all the fluids you've managed to swallow from every pore on your body. At this point, you've given up and sprawled out in your boxers on the tile floor, the coldest thing you could lay on. Tile seemed to soak up the chill in the room, making it freezing on your feet in the early mornings. You could sleep with socks on to stop this from happening, but what animal would sleep with socks on? It was a summer day you had only read about online, one which was so hot it stopped you from doing anything but think about how uncomfortably warm you are. Is it physically possible for a human to get this hot without being incredibly sick? You think yes, but can't bring yourself to put you or your already overheating computers through the suffering of searching it up to be sure. Even Hal seems to have been shut down for the day, which you can't remember if you did that or not. At this point you're surprised that you haven't shut down yet. 

You also begin to wonder how your friends are doing. After spending a whole day and a half not actually speaking to them, they are probably worried. Yesterday you busied yourself with tasks you needed to be done and told Hal to not allow any distractions while you worked. When you woke up next you were sweating in places you didn't know you could sweat and half of your computers were already threatening to overheat. You wondered how they were doing right now, besides their possible worried states of "Where Did Dirk Disappear Off To Now?" The more you think about it, you realize there have been plenty of times where you go missing for a few days at a time and come back as if nothing happened. This usually either happens when your insomnia gets bad and you eventually cave of exhaustion, or you throw yourself into a project and don’t stop for anything until it gets finished, which could mean days of not sleeping or refusing to even speak to Hal or Sawtooth. One example is when you worked on Lil Seb, which took you multiple days and sleepless nights, with one exception where you decided to take a shower and almost fell asleep in there. It was very worth it for Jane’s birthday present though. When you finally started talking to them again, they were worried and showed it but didn’t ask since by then it had been recurring. You can tell they want to ask, but they know you won’t say for any multitude of reasons. Your friends, although many years and many miles away, have really helped you to get through these years. Spending eternity in a tower above an ocean with only your creations to keep you company is a lot less lonely when you can reach out and have a connection to them even through a screen. Your eyes grow heavy as you think about the three best people in your life. They really do mean the world to you, whether or not you’d ever admit it out loud. Your body begins to feel heavy against the hardwood floor, and you allow yourself to fall into a quiet sleep. 

Derse was much, much cooler than the heat surrounding your waking self. For a millisecond you wonder if you died somehow, but immediately squash such a stupid idea. You know better than that. Wherever you'd end up would not be the dark droopiness of your dersian ceiling staring you down the moment you ceased to live. If anything, death would probably just be a void, nothingness which you wouldn’t even be able to comprehend due to the lack of existence. You decide to go and check on Roxy while you're here, since you wont really know when your waking self will be up and running again. The purple kingdom worked as it always did, somehow unaware of you being awake and Roxy always sleepwalking. You assume that either they aren’t very perceptive or just don’t bother to look up. You kind of watch them, and they look like what you’d assume ants looked like. In her tower she sleeps in her bed, peacefully. Her chest rises up and down softly, her hair a pink crown around her head. You didn’t even know she dyed her hair, but it suits her you think. It’s interesting to note that the change in hair color carried over to your dream selves, but it makes sense. How would your hair be the same length or your tattoo carry over otherwise? It would definitely be interesting to give yourself two haircuts rather than one, although you think you’ve gotten good at cutting hair. You sit on a chair located at a desk, and watch her while pondering your friends once more. 

Instead of going back to your tower, you decide to stay with her in hers, just in case she starts to wander off again. You wouldn't want to admit to yourself that the main reason is you kind of miss them, your friends, even though you haven't met in person. It's a deep aching that for a long time you'd think will never get fulfilled. Holding another person in your arms seems life changing. Their warmth surrounding you in a hug, the soft or roughness of their hands as they touch you with caring. It sounds amazing and terrifying all at the same time. You could only read about these things in old books and various fanfictions, what it actually means to have a physical connection with someone who's right next to you literally. On Derse, you’ve had to touch Roxy in order to get her back to her tower plenty of times, but theres something unsatisfying about it. It lacks a certain warmth and spark. It’s an empty touch, like they are split into two and one has all the human existence whereas the other is just a vessel.

If Roxy was able to come see you right now, you wouldn't hesitate to give her the biggest hug, and probably almost crush her to death just trying to physically show how much you love her. You’d spend time with her, show her Hal. If you could see Jane you'd somehow figure out how to show that you'd be there to protect her in a heartbeat, but that you know she's a strong and capable young woman and she could be anything she'd ever want to be. You’d let her bake for you, even if you hate Crockercorp and almost everything its associated with. If you saw Jake, you wouldn't know what to do. Your stupid feelings for him grow ever stronger as time passes by and you wouldn't want to alarm him, but you'd want to be there for him in a way that just a normal bro wouldn't. You'd want to be side-by-side with him in all his little adventures, making sure he'd make it out fine every time. You'd be the one sparring and training with him instead of Brobot. You have no clue if you’d tell him about how you feel. You’ve never thought it would’ve been a possibility. You used to think that as you aged you find the technology to be with Roxy, and out of some stupid responsibilty that because you were the last two people alive you’d have children or something. You knew something would come along and you two wouldn’t be damned here, almost like a feeling that something bigger would make sure that didn’t happen, but on those hopeless days you couldn’t help but think that you’d be stuck here forever, either alone or with Roxy, and your all of your ancestors preparation would be for naught. 

You don’t know how long you spend in Roxy’s company in Derse, but when you come back to reality its dark outside and seems to have finally started to cool down. Peeling yourself off the tile, your body is covered in dry sweat and feels horrendous. The first thing you do is shower, and get into fresh clothes which finally don’t feel like they are suffocating and adding to the rising temperatures. Towel draped across your neck, you decide to wait a moment before turning on all your electronics again. The silence would usually put you off, as you prefer all the noise of the machines whirring. To you, they take away the reminder that you seemed to be doomed to be alone forever. You sit in your chair, staring out the small window into the watery distance. Nothing but ocean and skyline stretched on for miles, the same view you’ve had for fifteen years. Nothing pops into your usually active mind, giving you some sort of peace for the moment. It’s quiet, but not bad. Almost comforting, to take a moment and cool off, figuratively and literally. What usually makes you restless now gives you the slightest bit of hope. Maybe everything will turn out okay in the end. 


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I just wonder what you're dreaming of  
> When you sleep and smile so comfortable  
> I just wish that I could give you that  
> That look that's perfectly unsad"

You wake up at the extreme heat you feel. You already kicked off the blankets and had on just a shirt and boxers, but for some reason your body was way too hot to be sleeping and needed to cool down before you could return. There wasn't an actual sun on LOTAK but the sky omitted enough light to need to be blocked out, so the shades were drawn to allow you and Jake to have some sort of a rest time between projects. You looked around the darkened room, eyes adjusting to see objects in the low light. The fans are turned on high and admit the only sounds in the room. On both of your planets, without some sort of constant sound in the background the planet seems to omit a noise that gives you a raging migraine and makes your brain feel almost as if its being pushed and pulled in every direction. Jake doesn’t seem to have the problem, which you can’t seem to figure out why it affects only you. The fans are there to block out the strange noise so you can sleep, but also it seems that Jake prefers to be cold while sleeping, probably because of the environment he grew up in. There isn’t really any sort of temperature on your island anyway, the only real temperature would be manipulation of the environment via fans or from another person's own body temperature. 

You turn your head to look at Jake, sleeping peacefully next to you. You've been trying to savor your relationship with him, although even after all this time it seems unreal. You never actually thought anything would come of your crush, so seeing him react to you in the same way you do to him is stunning.  _ He _ is stunning, at all times. Between the both of you you're sure there are flaws that will begin to shine as your relationship delves further, but for right now you couldn't care. Right now all you want to do is stare at your  _ boyfriend  _ and how hopeful he looks while he sleeps. Without your dream selves he must dream in the most vibrant of colors that would make anyone reach for a pair of shades. In the low light you are able to make out so many details, like the curve of his nose on his face, and the small bump in the middle that gives away that its most likely been broken before. Small beauty marks break his perfect skin, along a few minimal scars that would've been unnoticeable if you weren't so close to him. You scooted closer, giving him a light kiss on the cheek. He doesn't move. Jake's the deepest sleeper, unable to wake up to any noise, which is the opposite of you, who seems to be awake at any sign of alarm. 

As much as you recognize that you all have a lot of growth to do in order to do well in this game, you also can’t help but hope that Jake continues to be himself. You know this to be impossible, that there is no way for y’all to grow in your relationships and be able to work together when it’s needed most if you don’t grow and change for the betterment of yourself and those who are around you, and yet you want to keep Jake here forever, smiling and laughing and being so hopeful. He fuels a part of you that you didn’t even realize you needed, a part of you that makes you go and strive for more. 

Jake mumbles and turns, not quite awake but his brain recognizes your presence and he turns to pull you into his space. Your heart tenses and your body feels even warmer at the fact that even when he’s not conscious he still wants you near him. You’re sure that your face is burning and you don’t bother to stop it because hey, he’s asleep and no one else is here to see right? You can only hope Hal isn’t around right now because that teasing won’t be fun to deal with. He mumbles something just slightly too incoherent to understand, and it makes you chuckle lightly into his clothed shoulder. The shirt he’s wearing used to not fit him at all, hanging off of him strangely and weird in fitting. That was before the game started, when you used to video chat as soon as you got it all set up to be possible on both sides. Now the shirt hugs him comfortably in all the right places, and he looks extremely hot in anything he wears. Not that that’s something you should be thinking about right now. In fact, thinking about how he’d look and act when you two are engaging in anything that is sexual in nature is not something that should be at the top of your list of important things you have to do. In fact, its at the bottom because you have so many other more important things to do and worry about while you are waiting and-

Jake shuffles again, hitting his nose on your forehead and that makes him reach up and rub at it before laying back on his back. His right arm is still holding you close to him, you head resting on his bicep. You move your legs closer to his, experimentally tucking one of yours around one of his legs. He pulls you even closer in response, and you lay your head on his chest. His heart pumps against your ear and you can feel the way his chest moves up and down when he breathes in and out and in and out and in and out. It’s comfortable and calms you extremely, listening to his heart beat. You remember once reading something about people liking to listen to heart beats because it reminds you of your mother and it’s comforting. You don’t have any parents who held you when you were a baby, and yet with every beat of Jake’s heart your mind becomes quieter and quieter. Everything is peaceful, and as you drift back into sleep you can’t help but hope it’ll always be like this.

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT7F15T9VBI


End file.
